This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
'Everything Is Awesome' SOTU Post-Mortem: "It's Not Government's Job To Make Everybody Rich"
The only thing we did not get from tonight's State of The Union speech was a "Mission Accomplished" flag... oddly some of the 6,493 words (the lowest word-count of his Presidency) were not entirely 'factual'...
SOTU ran 59 mins 56 seconds. Applause count per @JillianBHughes was 87.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) January 21, 2015
Don't Forget...
"Make A New America"
The Atlantic has an excellent interactive chart for diving into the details of SOTUs...
* * *
Some color...
"The shadow of crisis has passed" - so why are Treasury yields at record lows and why does The Fed have ZIRP and keep threatening QE on every 5% drop in stocks?
"the stock market has doubled"
Somewhere Ben Bernanke is offended Obama took credit for the stock market's gains
— GreekFire23 (@GreekFire23) January 21, 2015
"our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999"
About the whole jobs thing #SOTU pic.twitter.com/YJiHjUSh54
— Tim Backshall (@credittrader) January 21, 2015
Watiers/Bartenders vs Manufacturing workers pic.twitter.com/Y4OfJJ6VN9
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 21, 2015
"Wages are finally starting to rise again." - well hope is...
Obama "Wages are finally starting to rise" pic.twitter.com/9Xnox1EJYq
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 21, 2015
"These ideas won’t make everybody rich, or relieve every hardship. That’s not the job of government." - indeed only the 'already rich' get rich...
"The best scientists in the world are all telling us that our activities are changing the climate"
The world's billionaires fighting climate change in Davos pic.twitter.com/tcH08wrfnU
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 21, 2015
"Middle Class Economics" - How's that working out?
% of global wealth held by the middle class pic.twitter.com/O2CWE7zwYy
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 21, 2015
As WSJ notes, no one is even clear what the Middle-Class is...
"Cost of community college for all will be zero" - yeah that didn't work out so well did it...
For the first time in history, a majority of jobless workers 25 and over have attended some college pic.twitter.com/HhGg4peqE2
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 21, 2015
Free community college pic.twitter.com/C6W2U1ETpn
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 21, 2015
Student Debt pic.twitter.com/idH1g1DjcL
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 21, 2015
"As Americans, we cherish our civil liberties?" - not so much Germans... or North Koreans
U.S. Spies Tapped North Korean Computers Before Sony Hack http://t.co/PYKgZDx3Lo
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 21, 2015
"Russia is isolated, with its economy in tatters."
Obama in China pic.twitter.com/7Qe0u2McXP
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 21, 2015
Countries that have "isolated" Russia shown in blue pic.twitter.com/tvbn1pIJkd
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 21, 2015
And finally... "That’s a better politics. That’s how we start rebuilding trust. That’s how we move this country forward. That’s what the American people want. That’s what they deserve."
Obama: Congress should come together Obama: I will veto anything I disagree with
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 21, 2015
* * *
Bloomberg headline summary...
- *OBAMA SAYS `THE SHADOW OF CRISIS HAS PASSED'
- *OBAMA SAYS BUDGET WILL BE PRACTICAL, NOT PARTISAN
- *OBAMA SAYS HE WILL VETO ATTEMPTS TO KILL OBAMACARE, DODD-FRANK
- *OBAMA CALLS ON CONGRESS TO EXPAND PAID SICK LEAVE
- *OBAMA SAYS HE'S SENDING CONGRESS PLAN FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE
- *OBAMA SAYS COST OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE WILL BE ZERO UNDER PLAN
- *OBAMA REITERATES CALL FOR TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY
- *OBAMA SAYS HE'S LAUNCHING INITIATIVE FOR CURING DISEASES
- *OBAMA CALLS ON CONGRESS TO HELP HIM CLOSE TAX LOOPHOLES
- *OBAMA REITERATES HE WANTS `FREE AND OPEN' INTERNET
- *OBAMA: U.S. HAS LEARNED `COSTLY LESSONS' IN FOREIGN POLICY
- *OBAMA SAYS RUSSIA IS ISOLATED, `ITS ECONOMY IN TATTERS'
- *OBAMA: IRAN SANCTIONS ALL BUT GUARANTEE NUKE TALKS WILL FAIL
- *OBAMA SAYS HE WILL VETO ANY NEW IRAN SANCTIONS BILL
- *OBAMA: NOTHING IS GREATER THREAT TO FUTURE THAN CLIMATE CHANGE
* * *
The White House has released the entire State of The Union speech...
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, my fellow Americans:
We are fifteen years into this new century. Fifteen years that dawned with terror touching our shores; that unfolded with a new generation fighting two long and costly wars; that saw a vicious recession spread across our nation and the world. It has been, and still is, a hard time for many.
But tonight, we turn the page.
Tonight, after a breakthrough year for America, our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999. Our unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the financial crisis. More of our kids are graduating than ever before; more of our people are insured than ever before; we are as free from the grip of foreign oil as we’ve been in almost 30 years.
Tonight, for the first time since 9/11, our combat mission in Afghanistan is over. Six years ago, nearly 180,000 American troops served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today, fewer than 15,000 remain. And we salute the courage and sacrifice of every man and woman in this 9/11 Generation who has served to keep us safe. We are humbled and grateful for your service.
America, for all that we’ve endured; for all the grit and hard work required to come back; for all the tasks that lie ahead, know this:
The shadow of crisis has passed, and the State of the Union is strong.
At this moment?—?with a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry, and booming energy production?—?we have risen from recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on Earth. It’s now up to us to choose who we want to be over the next fifteen years, and for decades to come.
Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well? Or will we commit ourselves to an economy that generates rising incomes and chances for everyone who makes the effort?
Will we approach the world fearful and reactive, dragged into costly conflicts that strain our military and set back our standing? Or will we lead wisely, using all elements of our power to defeat new threats and protect our planet?
Will we allow ourselves to be sorted into factions and turned against one another?—?or will we recapture the sense of common purpose that has always propelled America forward?
In two weeks, I will send this Congress a budget filled with ideas that are practical, not partisan. And in the months ahead, I’ll crisscross the country making a case for those ideas.
So tonight, I want to focus less on a checklist of proposals, and focus more on the values at stake in the choices before us.
It begins with our economy.
Seven years ago, Rebekah and Ben Erler of Minneapolis were newlyweds. She waited tables. He worked construction. Their first child, Jack, was on the way.
They were young and in love in America, and it doesn’t get much better than that.
“If only we had known,” Rebekah wrote to me last spring, “what was about to happen to the housing and construction market.”
As the crisis worsened, Ben’s business dried up, so he took what jobs he could find, even if they kept him on the road for long stretches of time. Rebekah took out student loans, enrolled in community college, and retrained for a new career. They sacrificed for each other. And slowly, it paid off. They bought their first home. They had a second son, Henry. Rebekah got a better job, and then a raise. Ben is back in construction?—?and home for dinner every night.
“It is amazing,” Rebekah wrote, “what you can bounce back from when you have to…we are a strong, tight-knit family who has made it through some very, very hard times.”
We are a strong, tight-knit family who has made it through some very, very hard times.
America, Rebekah and Ben’s story is our story. They represent the millions who have worked hard, and scrimped, and sacrificed, and retooled. You are the reason I ran for this office. You’re the people I was thinking of six years ago today, in the darkest months of the crisis, when I stood on the steps of this Capitol and promised we would rebuild our economy on a new foundation. And it’s been your effort and resilience that has made it possible for our country to emerge stronger.
We believed we could reverse the tide of outsourcing, and draw new jobs to our shores. And over the past five years, our businesses have created more than 11 million new jobs.
We believed we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil and protect our planet. And today, America is number one in oil and gas. America is number one in wind power. Every three weeks, we bring online as much solar power as we did in all of 2008. And thanks to lower gas prices and higher fuel standards, the typical family this year should save $750 at the pump.
We believed we could prepare our kids for a more competitive world. And today, our younger students have earned the highest math and reading scores on record. Our high school graduation rate has hit an all-time high. And more Americans finish college than ever before.
We believed that sensible regulations could prevent another crisis, shield families from ruin, and encourage fair competition. Today, we have new tools to stop taxpayer-funded bailouts, and a new consumer watchdog to protect us from predatory lending and abusive credit card practices. And in the past year alone, about ten million uninsured Americans finally gained the security of health coverage.
At every step, we were told our goals were misguided or too ambitious; that we would crush jobs and explode deficits. Instead, we’ve seen the fastest economic growth in over a decade, our deficits cut by two-thirds, a stock market that has doubled, and health care inflation at its lowest rate in fifty years.
So the verdict is clear. Middle-class economics works. Expanding opportunity works. And these policies will continue to work, as long as politics don’t get in the way. We can’t slow down businesses or put our economy at risk with government shutdowns or fiscal showdowns. We can’t put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street, or refighting past battles on immigration when we’ve got a system to fix. And if a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, it will earn my veto.
Today, thanks to a growing economy, the recovery is touching more and more lives. Wages are finally starting to rise again. We know that more small business owners plan to raise their employees’ pay than at any time since 2007. But here’s the thing?—?those of us here tonight, we need to set our sights higher than just making sure government doesn’t halt the progress we’re making. We need to do more than just do no harm. Tonight, together, let’s do more to restore the link between hard work and growing opportunity for every American.
Because families like Rebekah’s still need our help. She and Ben are working as hard as ever, but have to forego vacations and a new car so they can pay off student loans and save for retirement. Basic childcare for Jack and Henry costs more than their mortgage, and almost as much as a year at the University of Minnesota. Like millions of hardworking Americans, Rebekah isn’t asking for a handout, but she is asking that we look for more ways to help families get ahead.
In fact, at every moment of economic change throughout our history, this country has taken bold action to adapt to new circumstances, and to make sure everyone gets a fair shot. We set up worker protections, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to protect ourselves from the harshest adversity. We gave our citizens schools and colleges, infrastructure and the internet?—?tools they needed to go as far as their effort will take them.
That’s what middle-class economics is?—?the idea that this country does best when everyone gets their fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. We don’t just want everyone to share in America’s success?—?we want everyone to contribute to our success.
So what does middle-class economics require in our time?
First?—?middle-class economics means helping working families feel more secure in a world of constant change. That means helping folks afford childcare, college, health care, a home, retirement?—?and my budget will address each of these issues, lowering the taxes of working families and putting thousands of dollars back into their pockets each year.
Here’s one example. During World War II, when men like my grandfather went off to war, having women like my grandmother in the workforce was a national security priority?—?so this country provided universal childcare. In today’s economy, when having both parents in the workforce is an economic necessity for many families, we need affordable, high-quality childcare more than ever. It’s not a nice-to-have?—?it’s a must-have. It’s time we stop treating childcare as a side issue, or a women’s issue, and treat it like the national economic priority that it is for all of us. And that’s why my plan will make quality childcare more available, and more affordable, for every middle-class and low-income family with young children in America?—?by creating more slots and a new tax cut of up to $3,000 per child, per year.
Here’s another example. Today, we’re the only advanced country on Earth that doesn’t guarantee paid sick leave or paid maternity leave to our workers. Forty-three million workers have no paid sick leave. Forty-three million. Think about that. And that forces too many parents to make the gut-wrenching choice between a paycheck and a sick kid at home. So I’ll be taking new action to help states adopt paid leave laws of their own. And since paid sick leave won where it was on the ballot last November, let’s put it to a vote right here in Washington. Send me a bill that gives every worker in America the opportunity to earn seven days of paid sick leave. It’s the right thing to do.
Of course, nothing helps families make ends meet like higher wages. That’s why this Congress still needs to pass a law that makes sure a woman is paid the same as a man for doing the same work. Really. It’s 2015. It’s time. We still need to make sure employees get the overtime they’ve earned. And to everyone in this Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this: If you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, go try it. If not, vote to give millions of the hardest-working people in America a raise.
These ideas won’t make everybody rich, or relieve every hardship. That’s not the job of government. To give working families a fair shot, we’ll still need more employers to see beyond next quarter’s earnings and recognize that investing in their workforce is in their company’s long-term interest. We still need laws that strengthen rather than weaken unions, and give American workers a voice. But things like child care and sick leave and equal pay; things like lower mortgage premiums and a higher minimum wage?—?these ideas will make a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of families. That is a fact. And that’s what all of us?—?Republicans and Democrats alike?—?were sent here to do.
Second, to make sure folks keep earning higher wages down the road, we have to do more to help Americans upgrade their skills.
America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free, sent a generation of GIs to college, and trained the best workforce in the world. But in a 21st century economy that rewards knowledge like never before, we need to do more.
By the end of this decade, two in three job openings will require some higher education. Two in three. And yet, we still live in a country where too many bright, striving Americans are priced out of the education they need. It’s not fair to them, and it’s not smart for our future.
That’s why I am sending this Congress a bold new plan to lower the cost of community college?—?to zero.
Forty percent of our college students choose community college. Some are young and starting out. Some are older and looking for a better job. Some are veterans and single parents trying to transition back into the job market. Whoever you are, this plan is your chance to graduate ready for the new economy, without a load of debt. Understand, you’ve got to earn it?—?you’ve got to keep your grades up and graduate on time. Tennessee, a state with Republican leadership, and Chicago, a city with Democratic leadership, are showing that free community college is possible. I want to spread that idea all across America, so that two years of college becomes as free and universal in America as high school is today. And I want to work with this Congress, to make sure Americans already burdened with student loans can reduce their monthly payments, so that student debt doesn’t derail anyone’s dreams.
Thanks to Vice President Biden’s great work to update our job training system, we’re connecting community colleges with local employers to train workers to fill high-paying jobs like coding, and nursing, and robotics. Tonight, I’m also asking more businesses to follow the lead of companies like CVS and UPS, and offer more educational benefits and paid apprenticeships?—?opportunities that give workers the chance to earn higher-paying jobs even if they don’t have a higher education.
And as a new generation of veterans comes home, we owe them every opportunity to live the American Dream they helped defend. Already, we’ve made strides towards ensuring that every veteran has access to the highest quality care. We’re slashing the backlog that had too many veterans waiting years to get the benefits they need, and we’re making it easier for vets to translate their training and experience into civilian jobs. Joining Forces, the national campaign launched by Michelle and Jill Biden, has helped nearly 700,000 veterans and military spouses get new jobs. So to every CEO in America, let me repeat: If you want somebody who’s going to get the job done, hire a veteran.
Finally, as we better train our workers, we need the new economy to keep churning out high-wage jobs for our workers to fill.
Since 2010, America has put more people back to work than Europe, Japan, and all advanced economies combined. Our manufacturers have added almost 800,000 new jobs. Some of our bedrock sectors, like our auto industry, are booming. But there are also millions of Americans who work in jobs that didn’t even exist ten or twenty years ago?—?jobs at companies like Google, and eBay, and Tesla.
So no one knows for certain which industries will generate the jobs of the future. But we do know we want them here in America. That’s why the third part of middle-class economics is about building the most competitive economy anywhere, the place where businesses want to locate and hire.
21st century businesses need 21st century infrastructure?—?modern ports, stronger bridges, faster trains and the fastest internet. Democrats and Republicans used to agree on this. So let’s set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline. Let’s pass a bipartisan infrastructure plan that could create more than thirty times as many jobs per year, and make this country stronger for decades to come.
21st century businesses, including small businesses, need to sell more American products overseas. Today, our businesses export more than ever, and exporters tend to pay their workers higher wages. But as we speak, China wants to write the rules for the world’s fastest-growing region. That would put our workers and businesses at a disadvantage. Why would we let that happen? We should write those rules. We should level the playing field. That’s why I’m asking both parties to give me trade promotion authority to protect American workers, with strong new trade deals from Asia to Europe that aren’t just free, but fair.
Look, I’m the first one to admit that past trade deals haven’t always lived up to the hype, and that’s why we’ve gone after countries that break the rules at our expense. But ninety-five percent of the world’s customers live outside our borders, and we can’t close ourselves off from those opportunities. More than half of manufacturing executives have said they’re actively looking at bringing jobs back from China. Let’s give them one more reason to get it done.
21st century businesses will rely on American science, technology, research and development. I want the country that eliminated polio and mapped the human genome to lead a new era of medicine?—?one that delivers the right treatment at the right time. In some patients with cystic fibrosis, this approach has reversed a disease once thought unstoppable. Tonight, I’m launching a new Precision Medicine Initiative to bring us closer to curing diseases like cancer and diabetes?—?and to give all of us access to the personalized information we need to keep ourselves and our families healthier.
I intend to protect a free and open internet, extend its reach to every classroom, and every community, and help folks build the fastest networks, so that the next generation of digital innovators and entrepreneurs have the platform to keep reshaping our world.
I want Americans to win the race for the kinds of discoveries that unleash new jobs?—?converting sunlight into liquid fuel; creating revolutionary prosthetics, so that a veteran who gave his arms for his country can play catch with his kid; pushing out into the Solar System not just to visit, but to stay. Last month, we launched a new spacecraft as part of a re-energized space program that will send American astronauts to Mars. In two months, to prepare us for those missions, Scott Kelly will begin a year-long stay in space. Good luck, Captain?—?and make sure to Instagram it.
Now, the truth is, when it comes to issues like infrastructure and basic research, I know there’s bipartisan support in this chamber. Members of both parties have told me so. Where we too often run onto the rocks is how to pay for these investments. As Americans, we don’t mind paying our fair share of taxes, as long as everybody else does, too. But for far too long, lobbyists have rigged the tax code with loopholes that let some corporations pay nothing while others pay full freight. They’ve riddled it with giveaways the superrich don’t need, denying a break to middle class families who do.
This year, we have an opportunity to change that. Let’s close loopholes so we stop rewarding companies that keep profits abroad, and reward those that invest in America. Let’s use those savings to rebuild our infrastructure and make it more attractive for companies to bring jobs home. Let’s simplify the system and let a small business owner file based on her actual bank statement, instead of the number of accountants she can afford. And let’s close the loopholes that lead to inequality by allowing the top one percent to avoid paying taxes on their accumulated wealth. We can use that money to help more families pay for childcare and send their kids to college. We need a tax code that truly helps working Americans trying to get a leg up in the new economy, and we can achieve that together.
Helping hardworking families make ends meet. Giving them the tools they need for good-paying jobs in this new economy. Maintaining the conditions for growth and competitiveness. This is where America needs to go. I believe it’s where the American people want to go. It will make our economy stronger a year from now, fifteen years from now, and deep into the century ahead.
Of course, if there’s one thing this new century has taught us, it’s that we cannot separate our work at home from challenges beyond our shores.
My first duty as Commander-in-Chief is to defend the United States of America. In doing so, the question is not whether America leads in the world, but how. When we make rash decisions, reacting to the headlines instead of using our heads; when the first response to a challenge is to send in our military?—?then we risk getting drawn into unnecessary conflicts, and neglect the broader strategy we need for a safer, more prosperous world. That’s what our enemies want us to do.
I believe in a smarter kind of American leadership. We lead best when we combine military power with strong diplomacy; when we leverage our power with coalition building; when we don’t let our fears blind us to the opportunities that this new century presents. That’s exactly what we’re doing right now?—?and around the globe, it is making a difference.
First, we stand united with people around the world who’ve been targeted by terrorists?—?from a school in Pakistan to the streets of Paris. We will continue to hunt down terrorists and dismantle their networks, and we reserve the right to act unilaterally, as we’ve done relentlessly since I took office to take out terrorists who pose a direct threat to us and our allies.
At the same time, we’ve learned some costly lessons over the last thirteen years.
Instead of Americans patrolling the valleys of Afghanistan, we’ve trained their security forces, who’ve now taken the lead, and we’ve honored our troops’ sacrifice by supporting that country’s first democratic transition. Instead of sending large ground forces overseas, we’re partnering with nations from South Asia to North Africa to deny safe haven to terrorists who threaten America. In Iraq and Syria, American leadership?—?including our military power?—?is stopping ISIL’s advance. Instead of getting dragged into another ground war in the Middle East, we are leading a broad coalition, including Arab nations, to degrade and ultimately destroy this terrorist group. We’re also supporting a moderate opposition in Syria that can help us in this effort, and assisting people everywhere who stand up to the bankrupt ideology of violent extremism. This effort will take time. It will require focus. But we will succeed. And tonight, I call on this Congress to show the world that we are united in this mission by passing a resolution to authorize the use of force against ISIL.
Second, we are demonstrating the power of American strength and diplomacy. We’re upholding the principle that bigger nations can’t bully the small?—?by opposing Russian aggression, supporting Ukraine’s democracy, and reassuring our NATO allies. Last year, as we were doing the hard work of imposing sanctions along with our allies, some suggested that Mr. Putin’s aggression was a masterful display of strategy and strength. Well, today, it is America that stands strong and united with our allies, while Russia is isolated, with its economy in tatters.
That’s how America leads?—?not with bluster, but with persistent, steady resolve.
In Cuba, we are ending a policy that was long past its expiration date. When what you’re doing doesn’t work for fifty years, it’s time to try something new. Our shift in Cuba policy has the potential to end a legacy of mistrust in our hemisphere; removes a phony excuse for restrictions in Cuba; stands up for democratic values; and extends the hand of friendship to the Cuban people. And this year, Congress should begin the work of ending the embargo. As His Holiness, Pope Francis, has said, diplomacy is the work of “small steps.” These small steps have added up to new hope for the future in Cuba. And after years in prison, we’re overjoyed that Alan Gross is back where he belongs. Welcome home, Alan.
Our diplomacy is at work with respect to Iran, where, for the first time in a decade, we’ve halted the progress of its nuclear program and reduced its stockpile of nuclear material. Between now and this spring, we have a chance to negotiate a comprehensive agreement that prevents a nuclear-armed Iran; secures America and our allies?—?including Israel; while avoiding yet another Middle East conflict. There are no guarantees that negotiations will succeed, and I keep all options on the table to prevent a nuclear Iran. But new sanctions passed by this Congress, at this moment in time, will all but guarantee that diplomacy fails?—?alienating America from its allies; and ensuring that Iran starts up its nuclear program again. It doesn’t make sense. That is why I will veto any new sanctions bill that threatens to undo this progress. The American people expect us to only go to war as a last resort, and I intend to stay true to that wisdom.
Third, we’re looking beyond the issues that have consumed us in the past to shape the coming century.
No foreign nation, no hacker, should be able to shut down our networks, steal our trade secrets, or invade the privacy of American families, especially our kids. We are making sure our government integrates intelligence to combat cyber threats, just as we have done to combat terrorism. And tonight, I urge this Congress to finally pass the legislation we need to better meet the evolving threat of cyber-attacks, combat identity theft, and protect our children’s information. If we don’t act, we’ll leave our nation and our economy vulnerable. If we do, we can continue to protect the technologies that have unleashed untold opportunities for people around the globe.
In West Africa, our troops, our scientists, our doctors, our nurses and healthcare workers are rolling back Ebola?—?saving countless lives and stopping the spread of disease. I couldn’t be prouder of them, and I thank this Congress for your bipartisan support of their efforts. But the job is not yet done?—?and the world needs to use this lesson to build a more effective global effort to prevent the spread of future pandemics, invest in smart development, and eradicate extreme poverty.
In the Asia Pacific, we are modernizing alliances while making sure that other nations play by the rules?—?in how they trade, how they resolve maritime disputes, and how they participate in meeting common international challenges like nonproliferation and disaster relief. And no challenge?—?no challenge?—?poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change.
2014 was the planet’s warmest year on record. Now, one year doesn’t make a trend, but this does?—?14 of the 15 warmest years on record have all fallen in the first 15 years of this century.
I’ve heard some folks try to dodge the evidence by saying they’re not scientists; that we don’t have enough information to act. Well, I’m not a scientist, either. But you know what?—?I know a lot of really good scientists at NASA, and NOAA, and at our major universities. The best scientists in the world are all telling us that our activities are changing the climate, and if we do not act forcefully, we’ll continue to see rising oceans, longer, hotter heat waves, dangerous droughts and floods, and massive disruptions that can trigger greater migration, conflict, and hunger around the globe. The Pentagon says that climate change poses immediate risks to our national security. We should act like it.
That’s why, over the past six years, we’ve done more than ever before to combat climate change, from the way we produce energy, to the way we use it. That’s why we’ve set aside more public lands and waters than any administration in history. And that’s why I will not let this Congress endanger the health of our children by turning back the clock on our efforts. I am determined to make sure American leadership drives international action. In Beijing, we made an historic announcement?—?the United States will double the pace at which we cut carbon pollution, and China committed, for the first time, to limiting their emissions. And because the world’s two largest economies came together, other nations are now stepping up, and offering hope that, this year, the world will finally reach an agreement to protect the one planet we’ve got.
There’s one last pillar to our leadership?—?and that’s the example of our values.
As Americans, we respect human dignity, even when we’re threatened, which is why I’ve prohibited torture, and worked to make sure our use of new technology like drones is properly constrained. It’s why we speak out against the deplorable anti-Semitism that has resurfaced in certain parts of the world. It’s why we continue to reject offensive stereotypes of Muslims?—?the vast majority of whom share our commitment to peace. That’s why we defend free speech, and advocate for political prisoners, and condemn the persecution of women, or religious minorities, or people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. We do these things not only because they’re right, but because they make us safer.
As Americans, we have a profound commitment to justice?—?so it makes no sense to spend three million dollars per prisoner to keep open a prison that the world condemns and terrorists use to recruit. Since I’ve been President, we’ve worked responsibly to cut the population of GTMO in half. Now it’s time to finish the job. And I will not relent in my determination to shut it down. It’s not who we are.
As Americans, we cherish our civil liberties?—?and we need to uphold that commitment if we want maximum cooperation from other countries and industry in our fight against terrorist networks. So while some have moved on from the debates over our surveillance programs, I haven’t. As promised, our intelligence agencies have worked hard, with the recommendations of privacy advocates, to increase transparency and build more safeguards against potential abuse. And next month, we’ll issue a report on how we’re keeping our promise to keep our country safe while strengthening privacy.
Looking to the future instead of the past. Making sure we match our power with diplomacy, and use force wisely. Building coalitions to meet new challenges and opportunities. Leading?—?always?—?with the example of our values. That’s what makes us exceptional. That’s what keeps us strong. And that’s why we must keep striving to hold ourselves to the highest of standards?—?our own.
You know, just over a decade ago, I gave a speech in Boston where I said there wasn’t a liberal America, or a conservative America; a black America or a white America?—?but a United States of America. I said this because I had seen it in my own life, in a nation that gave someone like me a chance; because I grew up in Hawaii, a melting pot of races and customs; because I made Illinois my home?—?a state of small towns, rich farmland, and one of the world’s great cities; a microcosm of the country where Democrats and Republicans and Independents, good people of every ethnicity and every faith, share certain bedrock values.
Over the past six years, the pundits have pointed out more than once that my presidency hasn’t delivered on this vision. How ironic, they say, that our politics seems more divided than ever. It’s held up as proof not just of my own flaws?—?of which there are many?—?but also as proof that the vision itself is misguided, and naïve, and that there are too many people in this town who actually benefit from partisanship and gridlock for us to ever do anything about it.
I know how tempting such cynicism may be. But I still think the cynics are wrong.
I still believe that we are one people. I still believe that together, we can do great things, even when the odds are long. I believe this because over and over in my six years in office, I have seen America at its best. I’ve seen the hopeful faces of young graduates from New York to California; and our newest officers at West Point, Annapolis, Colorado Springs, and New London. I’ve mourned with grieving families in Tucson and Newtown; in Boston, West, Texas, and West Virginia. I’ve watched Americans beat back adversity from the Gulf Coast to the Great Plains; from Midwest assembly lines to the Mid-Atlantic seaboard. I’ve seen something like gay marriage go from a wedge issue used to drive us apart to a story of freedom across our country, a civil right now legal in states that seven in ten Americans call home.
So I know the good, and optimistic, and big-hearted generosity of the American people who, every day, live the idea that we are our brother’s keeper, and our sister’s keeper. And I know they expect those of us who serve here to set a better example.
So the question for those of us here tonight is how we, all of us, can better reflect America’s hopes. I’ve served in Congress with many of you. I know many of you well. There are a lot of good people here, on both sides of the aisle. And many of you have told me that this isn’t what you signed up for?—?arguing past each other on cable shows, the constant fundraising, always looking over your shoulder at how the base will react to every decision.
Imagine if we broke out of these tired old patterns. Imagine if we did something different.
Understand?—?a better politics isn’t one where Democrats abandon their agenda or Republicans simply embrace mine.
A better politics is one where we appeal to each other’s basic decency instead of our basest fears.
A better politics is one where we debate without demonizing each other; where we talk issues, and values, and principles, and facts, rather than “gotcha” moments, or trivial gaffes, or fake controversies that have nothing to do with people’s daily lives.
A better politics is one where we spend less time drowning in dark money for ads that pull us into the gutter, and spend more time lifting young people up, with a sense of purpose and possibility, and asking them to join in the great mission of building America.
If we’re going to have arguments, let’s have arguments?—?but let’s make them debates worthy of this body and worthy of this country.
We still may not agree on a woman’s right to choose, but surely we can agree it’s a good thing that teen pregnancies and abortions are nearing all-time lows, and that every woman should have access to the health care she needs.
Yes, passions still fly on immigration, but surely we can all see something of ourselves in the striving young student, and agree that no one benefits when a hardworking mom is taken from her child, and that it’s possible to shape a law that upholds our tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.
We may go at it in campaign season, but surely we can agree that the right to vote is sacred; that it’s being denied to too many; and that, on this 50th anniversary of the great march from Selma to Montgomery and the passage of the Voting Rights Act, we can come together, Democrats and Republicans, to make voting easier for every single American.
We may have different takes on the events of Ferguson and New York. But surely we can understand a father who fears his son can’t walk home without being harassed. Surely we can understand the wife who won’t rest until the police officer she married walks through the front door at the end of his shift. Surely we can agree it’s a good thing that for the first time in 40 years, the crime rate and the incarceration rate have come down together, and use that as a starting point for Democrats and Republicans, community leaders and law enforcement, to reform America’s criminal justice system so that it protects and serves us all.
That’s a better politics. That’s how we start rebuilding trust. That’s how we move this country forward. That’s what the American people want. That’s what they deserve.
I have no more campaigns to run. My only agenda for the next two years is the same as the one I’ve had since the day I swore an oath on the steps of this Capitol?—?to do what I believe is best for America. If you share the broad vision I outlined tonight, join me in the work at hand. If you disagree with parts of it, I hope you’ll at least work with me where you do agree. And I commit to every Republican here tonight that I will not only seek out your ideas, I will seek to work with you to make this country stronger.
Because I want this chamber, this city, to reflect the truth?—?that for all our blind spots and shortcomings, we are a people with the strength and generosity of spirit to bridge divides, to unite in common effort, and help our neighbors, whether down the street or on the other side of the world.
I want our actions to tell every child, in every neighborhood: your life matters, and we are as committed to improving your life chances as we are for our own kids.
I want future generations to know that we are a people who see our differences as a great gift, that we are a people who value the dignity and worth of every citizen?—?man and woman, young and old, black and white, Latino and Asian, immigrant and Native American, gay and straight, Americans with mental illness or physical disability.
I want them to grow up in a country that shows the world what we still know to be true: that we are still more than a collection of red states and blue states; that we are the United States of America.
I want them to grow up in a country where a young mom like Rebekah can sit down and write a letter to her President with a story to sum up these past six years:
“It is amazing what you can bounce back from when you have to…we are a strong, tight-knit family who has made it through some very, very hard times.”
My fellow Americans, we too are a strong, tight-knit family. We, too, have made it through some hard times. Fifteen years into this new century, we have picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves off, and begun again the work of remaking America. We’ve laid a new foundation. A brighter future is ours to write. Let’s begin this new chapter?—?together?—?and let’s start the work right now.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless this country we love.
* * *
Summing it all up...
More Socialism is the answer pic.twitter.com/cvV1uMeia8
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 21, 2015
»
- 54117 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
We nuked some folks.....
Old Hickory would disown Obama from being a Democrat -
".....Nor does the evil stop here. These ebbs and flows in the currency and these indiscreet extensions of credit naturally engender a spirit of speculation injurious to the habits and character of the people. We have already seen its effects in the wild spirit of speculation in the public lands and various kinds of stock which within the last year or two seized upon such a multitude of our citizens and threatened to pervade all classes of society and to withdraw their attention from the sober pursuits of honest industry. It is not by encouraging this spirit that we shall best preserve public virtue and promote the true interests of our country; but if your currency continues as exclusively paper as it now is, it will foster this eager desire to amass wealth without labor; it will multiply the number of dependents on bank accommodations and bank favors; the temptation to obtain money at any sacrifice will become stronger and stronger, and inevitably lead to corruption, which will find its way into your public councils and destroy at no distant day the purity of your Government. Some of the evils which arise from this system of paper press with peculiar hardship upon the class of society least able to bear it. A portion of this currency frequently becomes depreciated or worthless, and all of it is easily counterfeited..."
Andrew Jackson
We fooled some folks....Again.
did he mention or say the word USURY?
Goddammit! Now the Colase and Ducolax starts to kick in.
Maybe this guy is the very best thing that ever happened to colon cleansing!
Damn maybe that's why he carried California twice....
Somewhere Bernanke is offended....
Where is Bernanke?
Hiding in a hole on a farm outside of Tikrit... but don't tell anybody.
aw shucks, I missed it
I was occupied leaving several obolas in the commode....
Obama is proof that the American Dream is still alive: even an illegal, homosexual, bi color can become president if he is willing to screw his constituents in favor of banksters.
You forgot marxist and muslim....but point taken.
This is not aimed at you Zee...
On the SOTU: koff koff b'shit koff koff
Boehner looked like a meat sack with a demon inside...
;-D
Yeah well.....pretty sure everyone around here knows how I feel about Boehner.
Orange tanned fella has been compromised for a while now.....basically he's useless.
LOL, yeah, he definitely needs to work on his skin tone...
;-D
Looked? Moar like 'is'....
All that matter is who passed out first from the SOTU drinking game. When it comes to SOTU, he who passes out first, wins.
Me
"lower mortgage payments" and how is that to be done? 100 year mortgages?
It won't be done. But it sounds good to the last 5 or 10 sheeples who actually watch these sociopaths prattle on for over an hour.
"Where is Bernanke?"
He's still trying to get a mortgage on Fantasy Island. While he waits, he's settling for oral with Tatu.
Tatu? Two girls prancing around the stage in their underwear? Can't blame Ben Dover there. Might be one of the hottest exports from Russia in the last 150 years....after Alisa Rosenbaum, of course.
Well...the MTV generation seemed to like them, I suppose.
Naw man. Tatoo: https://www.google.com/search?q=Tattoo+Fantasy+Island&biw=1920&bih=958&s...
Pretty sure neither of the Tatu lesbians would find Ben interesting.
I persinally thank ZeroHedge for the service of this summary. I didn't have to listen to a single word he said so my dinner is still in my stomach where it belongs.
You didn't miss anything. It's was your typical Pure Evil Criminal Fraud UNITED STATES, CORP. INC. CEO with a handed CIA PsyOp, False Narratives, Propaganda , False Flag Script.
With a background of other Pure Evil Psychopaths / Sociopath lap dogs.
The whole "this is a post 9/11 world" rhetoric is filthy. From a point of authority, It's totalitarian in its very utterance. You hold a people hostage by saying that kinda stuff. We live in lots of "post-something" worlds...
he called current servicemembers 'the 9/11 generation'....
What are the unemployed and underemployed? The Wall Street generation?
we can debate and analyze all day and night why this and but that, however, just seeing the savings yield aty 0.01$ shows how messed up the sytenm is.
A goo dsign of recovery will be when people work again and save and get 4-5% yield on their hard earned savings money.
Work is for suckers. If I lose my job I'm on the dole myself. I'll be twisting that teat as long and as hard as possible. UE office the day I get canned and then directly to the welfare and food stamps office after that. And then any other benefits I can squeeze right after that. I got shit I want to do and this whole work thing is starting to cramp my style anyway.
Appeal to Fear. When all you have are drones, every problem looks like a middle-east wedding.
deleted
Did anyone else notice Illeana Ros Leitenen making twisty faces when he was talking about lifting the Cuban embargo?
Why bother listening to, or reading anything politicians say ? They are professional liars. You know you can expect more lies before they open their mouths.
Didn't watch. Didn't listen. Won't read it.
And didn't miss a thing I bet.
I'm with ya man. I don't give two shits about what he said because it's all lies. It's just disgusting to see the mass fall in love and believe anything he says. But when the media has his back and the jews who put him in there, he's all set man with no worries.
I'll second that. I appreciate people who can stomach listening to that POS lie his thouroughly-poked ass off, and then give a summary of those lies to those of us with weaker constitutions. Just seeing his face is enough to make me want to throw things at the screen .... not that Bush was any better ... but the arrogance of this prick is just stunning.
But was the word "prosperity"uttered? I never hear him mention it. I think the term is from an earlier time. There is no prosperity if all we are dong is splitting up a rapidly shrinking pie.
Or gold and silver. Did he mention gold and silver? I must have missed it if he did.
"It is not government's job to make everybody rich."
Really? You promised me everything else why are you pulling up lame on this one? I can have everything for free but I can't be rich? I dunno. Doesn't sound like such a hot deal to me.
Still no gots me 'Bammy phone.
You got to be homeless first. I got mine when I listed my address as beneath overpass 5 on I-10.
Ha! Last summer they set up kiosks at convenience stores and were handing them out to anyone who claimed to be low income. No proof required.
It just makes it easier for the NSA to locate them for the Great Purge and Slaughter.
Go ahead...Get yourself an Obama Phone...It is just a Death Sentence.
Right now I am tearing apart as many Cell Phones as I can...FOR THE GOLD...and to...
FUCK THE NSA.
yes, it's the government's job to make a select few rich
really fucking rich
wait, it's the really fucking rich's job to make the government make them more rich
aw fuck it
~""It is not government's job to make everybody rich.""~
Nor is it, Mr. President, to keep them from being poor. But that is exactly what you have tried to do, you socialist, Cloward-Pivening, Alinskyite pig. Fuck you and the Kenya passport you arrived on, you lying piece of shit.
*OBAMA SAYS `THE SHADOW OF CRISIS HAS PASSED'
*OBAMA SAYS BUDGET WILL BE PRACTICAL, NOT PARTISAN
*OBAMA SAYS HE WILL VETO ATTEMPTS TO KILL OBAMACARE, DODD-FRANK
*OBAMA CALLS ON CONGRESS TO EXPAND PAID SICK LEAVE
*OBAMA SAYS HE'S SENDING CONGRESS PLAN FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE
*OBAMA SAYS COST OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE WILL BE ZERO UNDER PLAN
*OBAMA REITERATES CALL FOR TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY
*OBAMA SAYS HE'S LAUNCHING INITIATIVE FOR CURING DISEASES
*OBAMA CALLS ON CONGRESS TO HELP HIM CLOSE TAX LOOPHOLES
*OBAMA REITERATES HE WANTS `FREE AND OPEN' INTERNET
*OBAMA: U.S. HAS LEARNED `COSTLY LESSONS' IN FOREIGN POLICY
*OBAMA SAYS RUSSIA IS ISOLATED, `ITS ECONOMY IN TATTERS'
*OBAMA: IRAN SANCTIONS ALL BUT GUARANTEE NUKE TALKS WILL FAIL
*OBAMA SAYS HE WILL VETO ANY NEW IRAN SANCTIONS BILL
*OBAMA: NOTHING IS GREATER THREAT TO FUTURE THAN CLIMATE CHANGE
What a total complete list of Criminal Fraud UNITED STATES, CORP. INC. CEO PsyOp, False Narratives, Propaganda & Mind FUCK. This CEO & Board of Directors Are certifiably INSANE!
OBAMA SAYS HE WILL VETO ATTEMPTS TO KILL OBAMACARE
If Congress would stick the damn checkbook on a boat and sink it.....he wouldn't have to worry about vetoing it.
Of course that would take the complete set of stones....last I heard Pelosi still had both of them.
That's correct... it's the Fed's job to make people rich. Some more than others, of course.
"It is not government's job to make everybody rich."
No he misspoke. He meant to say "its a goverment job that makes you rich."
NoDebt
RE: "not government's job to make everyone rich"
Obama has been trained and practiced in the use of "double-speak",
the official in-house language of law and politics.
In this instance,
a rough translation is that Obama believes
"government's job" is to greatly reward an elite few,
while making everyone one else less informed, less free, and much the poorer.
The actions of his administration support no other reasonable interpretation.
Translation:
"It's governments job to make everybody* poor"
*"Everybody" who doesn't make massive campaign contributions through lobbyists.PS-"We have the best government money can buy." - Mark Twain
O'bumbles and his Free Shit Shoppers are only interested in spreading poverty equalization.
We had the same exact same thought! Liars mean the opposite of what they say...
"It's governments job to make everybody* poor"
The days of this insanity won't last forever:
“This is the inscription that was written:
mene, mene, tekel, parsin
“Here is what these words mean:
Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
Tekel : You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
Peres : Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two. - Daniel 5:25-30
"And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery. "In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. "Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy." - Daniel 2:43-45
That day is drawing very close.
I lied my ass off to some folks!
Let me be clear.....everything you're going to hear next.....is going to be a damn lie.
Consider yourself warned.
We bored some folks to tears.
None of the current problems had any solutions offered last night.
Raising minimum wage: a sound bite for the not bright.
Mandetory IRA's to supplement SS? Or to supplement the health care system? So Wall Street wants some retail $$ to start flowing in again now that QE is over? Blow new bubbles with it?
Just keep piling it on to the sheeple (and the health care system)
They understand none of it.
Jackson cast about for an expert to help him with monetary issues. There was no good advice forthcoming.
So, the country ended up with an inflexible money system. Also, credit starting drying up. This led to economic difficulties.
Paper is not the problem. All money is fiat law, whether it be stamped Gold or paper. Gold or silver by weight can only be used as money if it is also sanctioned by some kind of force.
All economies have a S shaped curve - especially agricultural economies like the U.S. of the time.
Therefore, some credit coming on-line to help planting, and then disappearing after the goods are discharged is reasonable.
There real problem is for-profit banking corporations and usury. In the bible, usury is considered sin on par with murder. This notion has been normed out of man's conscience.
It would be within mankinds ability to create a lawful authority, which then allows a purchasing medium to come into existence and flow in proper channels. In fact, the flexiblity and law required for such a system is notational money, or "paper" even if in intangible form on ledger as ink or computer bytes.
To be fair since Boner sucks as well......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ixHrLegkmM
He is a stupid drunk fuck. Why do you think he cries at the drop of a hat? Mis-directed, over emotional responses are the hallmark of the drunk, addict, over medicated etc.
Transcript - http://hedgeaccordingly.com/2015/01/read-the-2015-state-of-the-union-tra...
i feel more awesome-er now
Some folks are going to get schooled.
We won't get schooled again?
Let's certainly hope not.
"It's Not Government's Job To Make Everybody Rich"
Translation: It's Government's Job to make Everybody poor.
Barf...
I think he should go to Dallas, Texas; in a open motor car; in a slow procession and wave to the folks; especially the ones on the grassy knoll. Just to be out there with the people, you know; have a nice day out, in Dallas.
Fuck that guy. Seriously.
It's nice to have the bully pulpit.....
Sure is.
"It really boils down to our ability to accept."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5No3c6FXUo
Damn epic reference....
Perfect.
If someone tried to remake They Live they would be subject to a murder suicide just like the Gray State guy
debt is growth
war is peace
The Age of Aquarius has been post-poned.
General Patton wasn't the only hater of paper hanging SOB's
The paper system being founded on public confidence and having of itself no intrinsic value, it is liable to great and sudden fluctuations, thereby rendering property insecure and the wages of labor unsteady and uncertain. The corporations which create the paper money can not be relied upon to keep the circulating medium uniform in amount. In times of prosperity, when confidence is high, they are tempted by the prospect of gain or by the influence of those who hope to profit by it to extend their issues of paper beyond the bounds of discretion and the reasonable demands of business; and when these issues have been pushed on from day to day, until public confidence is at length shaken, then a reaction takes place, and they immediately withdraw the credits they have given, suddenly curtail their issues, and produce an unexpected and ruinous contraction of the circulating medium, which is felt by the whole community. The banks by this means save themselves, and the mischievous consequences of their imprudence or cupidity are visited upon the public.
Andrew Jackson
Jackson even went after the real estate speculators.
"That's what you get when you elect a General as President.". Not as much with Grant or Eisenhower...but they both were concerned with gold standards too which is interesting.
I still think treasuries are surging because there remains massive default risk within this so called " recovery.". Not one mention of dirt cheap energy? Odd. That is a data point...certainly something both sides of the aisle can agree as "good for everyone" and not just the "middle class."
And what about American exceptionalism? At what point do we share here?
The USA strikes me as a highly unstable polity going on many years now.
Saying this is not so says to me "no solution."
Russia has paid?
Well..."here comes the payback"?
Sounds scary to me.
Jackson brutally warred with and relocated native Americans after the same had helped him prevail in the Battle of New Orleans.
None has been, or will be perfect.
Still - it's important to have heroes, even if they were historically contextual...you know, real.
Weather Warning Bulletin - At 9:14 PM EST the National Weather Service (NWS) reported the outbreak of a Category 5 Bullshit Storm centered over the Washington D.C. Metro area.
The NWS warns that Bullshit Storm "Barack" is spreading across the U.S. and around the world at 186,000 miles per second. NWS Chief Meteorologist says he has never seen such destructive blasts of bullshit, The NWS advises everyone to shelter in place for a least 3-7 days. In some isolated areas, sanitation crews may not be able to clear the piles of bullshit from streets, homes, and cars for 2-4 weeks. Stay tuned to weather radio for updates.
To read comments around the web, NY Times for example, you'd think that Obama wasn't a deliberate deception by the powers behind the throne - a quasi-fascist, crazy-Zionist, warmongering, banker-run Deep State which kept the same neocon pukes embedded in state, treasury, and elsewhere from Clinton, essentially, onward.
I suppose there will be no moderate third party, and that if there is one, the same fucking people will end up controlling it.
Who the fuck gave this man a reddie?
The three fuckwits who gave you the same treatment knucks?
Weather Warning Bulletin - At Tue, 01/20/2015 - 22:27 the National Weather Service (NWS) reported the outbreak of three fuckwits.
Could be more as conditions change.....seek shelter.
Funniest thing I read in awhile
no. just the top 1%
Gov's already made 0.01% of the population rich, VERY rich - now the focus is on KEEPING them rich.
Wow!
You must have been working through the entire speech to get this out so fast, Tyler!
Don't mess with the Tyler's bro!
Tyler's got a brother?
brother from another mother.......
Brothers don't shake hands....Briothers gotta hug!
All Tylers on deck tonight.
Their jobs didn't exist 10 years ago either. But thanks to Obama... ;-)
We bullshitted some folks.....
It's all good.
Do people actually BELIEVE this crap?
DavidC
The American People know better, folks.
Sadly, in general, NO.
Evidence: obola elected twice.
I didn't watch. I had to attend my local council meeting to vote on the same issues that are bankrupting our way of life. I have learned so much from my 3 1/2 year tenure that I don't see much hope in turning this monster around. The overly generous police and fire pensions are draining our city budget. This is typical of every Illinois municipality. God help us.
My most sincere sympathies and admiration for putting the fight to em.'
Even out here in one of the last sane bastions of rural California I can feel the entitlement creep slowly taking hold like a cancer working into the bone. Once that shit takes hold its Game Over and I'll be forced to leave the land that was home to 8 generations of Disc Jockeys...well okay we were actually gold miners back then (not joking).
Illinois, big budget hole there. But it is everywhere really.
Soon, only federal jobs will have a stable source of $$ to fund payroll. As long as they keep printing it.........................................................
Communist liar
Just a nincompoop...
"because I grew up in Hawaii", didn't say you were born there though, did ya Barry?
Lying piece of shit.
Everything is improved. A chicken in every pot. He's only spying on America's enemies. A middle-class economy is come.
Your elected morons clapped at everything.
We're headed to his promised land. Oh God, please don't make me go.
Logically parsing the words of a delusional madman. Not a productive use of time.
The consolation is that nobody tuned in anyway. Least of all Congress.
The should put Keystone on his desk tomorrow at 8:00 a.m.
we deluded some folks
They don't even bother hiding the teleprompter. Full of shit and don't give a fuck.
http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/MWimages/MW-DD772_sotu_2_ME_2015012021...
Who is that darker negro behind him? The one to his left?
is it over, really. wow, did i miss anything? lies, oh, fine, nothing new, go to bed...
A bunch of Gulfstream Whores?
Nah. They be the pimps. We is the whores getting it up the ass all the time and only having chump change to show for it.
I can't find "debt" in that cloud.
Bingo! I smoothes all wants/desires/numbers/etc. over.....until it doesn't. Debt is what allows them to lie.
Just narrowly missed that puppet show.
Narry a word was heard, nor is there any care to hear a narry of barry.
What's next on shit show bankster antics gone wild?
Very nice tweet there, ZH.
Great compilation of the facts, ZH.
I about threw up when he said this:
"We can’t put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street..."
EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!
If you are going to lie out your ass it may as well be an hour of diarrhea.
I can not even bring myself to listen to these lies anymore...
I did not even bother turning it on.
I do not invite liars and thieves into my home. Why would I want their images and words spewing into my peace from a Hot Tin Box?
This whole SOTU speech is rather irrelevant. I am amazed that so many of you watched it.
I did not even bother to read it. For what? Laughs?
The politicians are just mouthpieces, just like the press, for the oligarchy
And we are already dead men walking and writing the requiem of a dying World.
THERE IS NO SAVING IT.
SOTU ran 59 mins 56 seconds. Applause count per @JillianBHughes was 87.
Window Dressing complete!
Thanks Mark!
Ive got the sound down on the GOP responce but I see her lips moving so I know shes lying.
End the Fed wasn't in this SOTU! What would Andy do?
But when the charter for the Bank of the United States was obtained from Congress it perfected the schemes of the paper system.......The result of the ill-advised legislation which established this great monopoly was to concentrate the whole moneyed power of the Union, with its boundless means of corruption and its numerous dependents, under the direction and command of one acknowledged head, thus organizing this particular interest as one body and securing to it unity and concert of action throughout the United States, and enabling it to bring forward upon any occasion its entire and undivided strength to support or defeat any measure of the Government. In the hands of this formidable power, thus perfectly organized, was also placed unlimited dominion over the amount of the circulating medium, giving it the power to regulate the value of property and the fruits of labor in every quarter of the Union, and to bestow prosperity or bring ruin upon any city or section of the country as might best comport with its own interest or policy.
Andrew Jackson
When asked what his greatest accomplishment was while he was President, Andrew Jackson replied, "I killed the Bank."
When asked what his greatest accomplishment was while he was President, Andrew Jackson replied, "I killed the Bank."
Much as I love Andy I gotta flaunt my useless History BA here and say that unfortunately he never said this.
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Andrew_Jackson#Misattributed
He did however say this:
"It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes. Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government. Equality of talents, of education, or of wealth can not be produced by human institutions. In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the fruits of superior industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society — the farmers, mechanics, and laborers — who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their government. There are no necessary evils in government. Its evils exist only in its abuses. If it would confine itself to equal protection, and, as Heaven does its rains, shower its favors alike on the high and the low, the rich and the poor, it would be an unqualified blessing."
Andrew Jackson, Veto Message Regarding the Bank of the United States, July 10th, 1832
I see he didn't say that ISIS now has doubled the area in Syria that they control since the US bombing started or that Yemen is going to fall soon too...
Go get a loan
Free cars for everyone. Hookers and blow on the ETB for continued GDP growth
Has Yemens gold landed in Deutchland yet?
Or are they doing the meltdown thing in London first?
We Nodozed some folks...you know, to keep them awake.
The mulatto is such a fucking great bullshitter...he's got it down.
Sound Familiar?
The distress and alarm which pervaded and agitated the whole country when the Bank of the United States waged war upon the people in order to compel them to submit to its demands can not yet be forgotten. The ruthless and unsparing temper with which whole cities and communities were oppressed, individuals impoverished and ruined, and a scene of cheerful prosperity suddenly changed into one of gloom and despondency ought to be indelibly impressed on the memory of the people of the United States. If such was its power in a time of peace, what would it not have been in a season of war, with an enemy at your doors? No nation but the freemen of the United States could have come out victorious from such a contest; yet, if you had not conquered, the Government would have passed from the hands of the many to the hands of the few, and this organized money power from its secret conclave would have dictated the choice of your highest officers and compelled you to make peace or war, as best suited their own wishes. The forms of your Government might for a time have remained, but its living spirit would have departed from it.
Andrew Jackson
I wish he was living now. We need it.
i cant bear to watch anyone lie his ass off for an extended period of time, including our commandeer and chef
"If we just tax carbon I can save the planet like I did health insurance!"
WTF...if he can lie unconvincingly so can I.
"our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999"
And remember what happened in 2000...?
This reminds me of the GWB "Iraq victory" speech which later came back to haunt him.
59% employment/population growth. I was alive during the Reagan admin even though I don't look old enough to. And I remember his 84% as a result of his TAX CUTS (I'm a believer in fiscal policy, not monetary policy...)
I didnt' see this sotu. I was busy doing some PE person's job for them for a chance at an internship.
Only miss on the charts is the birth/deaths of businesses in America. Reversed for the first time in history !
Only miss on the charts is the birth/deaths in America. - fixed for you
"The shadow of crisis has passed"
So now we're left with plain ole' crisis...hmm, I liked the shadow better.
The bone and Sinew of America, indeed.....betrayed.
The planter, the farmer, the mechanic, and the laborer all know that their success depends upon their own industry and economy, and that they must not expect to become suddenly rich by the fruits of their toil. Yet these classes of society form the great body of the people of the United States; they are the bone and sinew of the country--men who love liberty and desire nothing but equal rights and equal laws, and who, moreover, hold the great mass of our national wealth, although it is distributed in moderate amounts among the millions of freemen who possess it. But with overwhelming numbers and wealth on their side they are in constant danger of losing their fair influence in the Government, and with difficulty maintain their just rights against the incessant efforts daily made to encroach upon them. The mischief springs from the power which the moneyed interest derives from a paper currency which they are able to control, from the multitude of corporations with exclusive privileges which they have succeeded in obtaining in the different States, and which are employed altogether for their benefit; and unless you become more watchful in your States and check this spirit of monopoly and thirst for exclusive privileges you will in the end find that the most important powers of Government have been given or bartered away, and the control over your dearest interests has passed into the hands of these corporations.
Andrew Jackson
The planter, the farmer, the laborer and the mechanic all fed into the distillery system that would weaken a predisposed indigenous people, then re-enslave another in Caribbean lands in pursuit of cane. AJ was a hell of a planner, I'll give you that.
Yes, there is always another side to men in history.
And now for the best part, where the media begins to tell me what I was suppose to hear.
We've tirelessly fought for some Middle Class folks.
Make no mistake. I've even fought for them while on the golf course, on vacation, and at the same time I've been flooding the country with immigrants, ...uhh...umm..I mean 'Dreamers,' illegal and otherwise. Let me be clear, I will not rest until the Middle Class is gon...uhh... I mean, going gangbusters!
In closing, I'd just like to say, I don't know what's going to happen, but my family and I are going to be just fine.
Thank you!
I love how an Ohio Cracker
in the background is blacker
than our carnival barker
our autographin instagrammin bushwacka
Hard for Chalky to get a tan when Reggie keeps him in his latex gimp suit so much.
Fuck.
That was perfect.
The red stripe from the flag went right down to his white shirt and tye unless you were squinting. His face just blended in....
There was this giant America had as its POTUS.....
But it will require steady and persevering exertions on your part to rid yourselves of the iniquities and mischiefs of the paper system and to check the spirit of monopoly and other abuses which have sprung up with it, and of which it is the main support. So many interests are united to resist all reform on this subject that you must not hope the conflict will be a short one nor success easy. My humble efforts have not been spared during my administration of the Government to restore the constitutional currency of gold and silver, and something, I trust, has been done toward the accomplishment of this most desirable object; but enough yet remains to require all your energy and perseverance. The power, however, is in your hands, and the remedy must and will be applied if you determine upon it. - Old Hickory, Andrew Jackson POTUS
Good night ZHer's and may God Bless Us despite what we have done.
I hope I did not thread-jack, I just wanted to contrast the hot air speech of tonight from words of someone who was a far greater man.